Photographer's Note

Taken on Lake Tonle Sap, near Siem Reap in Cambodia.

This is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and the size of the lake changes considerably depending on the season - the land around is so flat, rainfall floods the plains and the lake dimensions rise accordingly.

On the lake there is a kind of floating village which moves around from time to time. Tourist boats take trips to see this floating village and, once on the lake, kids like the one in the picture appear from the village boats.

Their makeshift vessels seems to be large washing-up bowls. At first I thought they were playing, having fun in the water. They would yell and row feverishly towards the tourist boats. Fairly frequently they would have to stop and bail out their tubs.

It soon became apparent this wasn't for fun, it was to earn money to feed themselves and their families. The cry of 'one dollar, one dollar' became clearer as the kids approached the tourists.

Some continued to snap and laugh, others looked away, others reached into their wallets.

These kids were probably 500 yards from shore in shallow makeshift boats paddling and bailing out like mad. To earn a dollar from a tourist.

This boy is so skillfull with his paddling on a very small "container." I feel so scared for him. What you described in the note seems so sad for those kids. By reading this, future tourists should consider giving them some money to support their families. The cost of a meal that people in the west spend is equal to a week of expenses for the children's family in Cambodia or elsewhere in developing countries. So tourists should not be stingy on a small amount of money to give them.

Your description and the depiction are fantastic. I just love it. Thanks for the wonderful picture you share with us.